EUROPE - UBM has acquired a 70 per cent stake in Turkish exhibition organiser EFEM that will see it launch a joint venture company in the region.
The new UBM ICC will develop EFEM’s existing baby product shows as well as expand UBM’s global portfolio of baby product exhibitions. It comes off the back of a link-up between EFEM and UBM Asia last year for a reciprocal sales and marketing agreement across their baby, child and maternity shows.
EFEM’s portfolio includes the International Istanbul Mothers, Babies, Children Products Fair (MBCP) and the Wintexpo Autumn Winter Baby Child Fashion Fair. The flagship MBCP brand claims to be the third-largest baby products show in Europe covering 30,000sqm at CNR Expo.
Under the new agreement, the organiser’s owners, Edral Baykara and Huseyin Irmak, along with eight staff will be retained. The business generated revenues of £1m in 2011 and had gross assets of less than £100,000 on 2 September 2012.
UBM said EFEM’s shows are synergistic with its annual Shanghai International Children Baby Mternity Industry Expo (CBME), which it plans to launch versions of in Brazil and India next year.
The latest acquisition means UBM will now run eight events in Turkey next year. The company has announced three launches of geo-adapted events in 2013: Food Ingredients Istanbul, plus Black Hat Istanbul and IFSEC for the IT security market. It also runs two Istanbul jewellery shows in Turkey under a joint venture with Turkish partner Rotaforte.
“With seven UBM events running in 2013, three of which are new geo-adaptations of UBM shows which are already successful in other countries, Turkey is an exciting market for UBM and for our joint venture partners,” UBM chief executive David Levin said.
UBM is finding the emerging markets a lucrative opportunity for its events portfolio, Levin said. In 2011 40 per cent of its events revenue came from those markets.
“We continue to see great opportunities in countries like Turkey, Brazil, India, China and across the ASEAN countries for us to leverage our global infrastructure and event portfolio to support the development of national and global trade in the fast-growing markets we have chosen to operate in.”
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